MySoultoKeep

by Dianna Hunter

  The strains of an exotic melody reached for them as Garth took Kayla’s arm and led her across a small courtyard paved with tiles depicting, in complicated patterns, the pursuit of large, alien beasts by even stranger hunters, and down an aisle surrounded by a luxuriant growth of bushes and flowers.

  The narcotic scent rising from a cluster of giant, white blossoms drew Kayla’s attention and triggered her memory of a small girl in another such garden. Involuntarily she jerked to one side to avoid the swaying white heads reaching for her and tightened her grip on Garth’s arm, holding it close to her until the path finally ended in the central courtyard.

  The courtyard glowed with the bright rays of the crimson and gold sunset pouring through the panels of a monstrous, domed skylight. Blinking her eyes to adjust them, Kayla noted how the light danced across the emerald-green waters of a large pond, making it sparkle with diamonds of light between the floating pink water lilies and the clumps of giant ferns that lined the banks and reached with feathery fronds for the surface.

  When Garth turned her, she was temporarily blinded by all the bright lights and the glare from the water so that she didn’t notice the pillow-covered dais to one side of the pool until they had moved closer and the creature lounging amidst the multi-colored cushions raised himself up to a sitting position.

  Kayla’s legs went numb and she was nearly overcome by nausea. She tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a small gasp of horror as she stared in disgust at the mountain of greasy, white flesh that could only be the Emperor Caleis.

  She felt Garth’s grip on her arm tighten, and she knew she was staring, but she couldn’t help herself. Her stomach churned as she tried to return what she hoped was the emperor’s version of a smile, and her eyes remained locked on his face.

  The thick purple lips spread, stretching until the mouth had merged with the shapeless mass that served as both nose and a point of beginning for the blood-red crest of warty flesh that traveled up the emperor’s forehead and over his bald head like a rooster’s comb. As difficult as it was to merely look upon this grotesquely ugly creature, for Kayla, the worst part of this encounter was being forced to look into those bulbous, yellow eyes and seeing the aura that oozed outward from him, surrounding him in a yellow-tinged blackness.

  “Kayla! Kayla!” Garth shook her harder, at last breaking the spell of horror that had frozen her in place.

  Seeing that he now had her attention, Garth continued. “Your Majesty, I would present to you, the Lady Kayla who has found herself in our land by mischance. The gods must have been smiling down upon me, for I was fortunate enough to encounter the lady near Black Dragon Lake. I convinced her to return to Sea-Watch with me.”

  “We are fortunate indeed to have your company, my dear,” purred the Emperor in a deep, guttural voice. “I do hope I will be able to impose upon you to spend some of your precious time in my company. I would like very much to learn something of your home world and its people,” leered Caleis in his most charming manner.

  Sucking in her breath, Kayla swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her mouth to form an answer. “Y-yes, Your Majesty, I would be honored.” She managed to nod her head but could not look back into those putrid eyes. If not for the pressure Garth was applying to her wrist, she would surely have fainted.

  Clapping his meaty hands together loudly, Caleis shouted, “Bring refreshments for my guests!” One of the many attendants lurking in the tall ferns behind him darted behind the dais and disappeared through a curtain of vines.

  Kayla had been so preoccupied with the emperor that she had not paid attention to the other occupants of the garden, but now she spared a glance for the slender, pink-scaled servants standing to either side of the dais, slowly waving long-handled fans made of fluffy pink feathers above his head. She was unable to guess the gender of the child-sized creatures clad in short tunics that appeared to be made of many slender green leaves woven together.

  Garth had moved to the far side of the dais and become involved in a heated conversation with Caleis, and for the moment at least, they had forgotten Kayla. Taking advantage of this reprieve, she wandered away to explore the rest of the beautiful garden.

  Kayla was cautiously smelling some pretty pink flowers growing profusely on a short, blue-leaved bush when the sound of splashing drew her attention. Curious, she walked along the edge of the pool trying to locate the source of the disturbance, but she was unable to find anything larger than a small spotted toad innocently sunning its self on a flat rock.

  With a shrug of her shoulders, Kayla tucked her legs under her and settled on the raised tile edge of the pool beside the toad.

  “Now, I know it wasn’t you making all that noise,” she whispered to the small creature who was nervously puffing his throat in and out.

  When the toad finally grew too nervous or too bored with her and hopped off into the grass, Kayla leaned over the side to reach for one of the pretty pink lilies floating in the water only to have it rise into the air and move toward her!

  Surprised, she snatched her hand back in alarm and lost her balance, nearly falling in.

  “Hey! What’s going on here?”

  There was a sudden churning of water on each side of her and a chorus of soft laughter that was like the tingling of small bells. From the midst of the sparkling waves of water appeared two golden flowers that became two nearly identical blonde heads.

  “We’re sorry,” they giggled as they grabbed onto the sides of the pool.

  “Hey, who are you two?” Kayla smiled at the young teenagers grinning up at her, liking their green-eyed, mischief-filled faces right away.

  “Hi, I’m Reed,” said the boy, flashing a charming smile, “and this is Lori. Sometimes she’s kinda shy.”

  “I see these two imps have already managed to make your acquaintance,” Garth said from behind her.

  “Garth! Garth! Did you bring us anything from your journey?” chimed the youngsters.

  Bending down to one knee to speak to the children, he put his arms around Kayla’s waist. “Why yes, I did. I brought you a new friend.”

  “This is Kayla. Be nice to her, I’ll not stand for any of your pranks now,” he warned them in a teasing voice.

  “Oh, Garth, we wouldn’t do anything like that!” chorused the twins, innocently dropping heavy-lashed lids over their large eyes. Lifting their slender bodies from the water, they settled on the pool’s edge.

  Surprised and delighted, Kayla declared, “Why, you’re mer…umm, merfolk!” Turning her eyes from one to the other, she saw that beginning just below their navels their bodies were covered in iridescent green scales that formed a tail and ended in a graceful, filmy fin of the palest, silvery green.

  “Yes,” grinned Garth. “They’re of the Lorilli. Their people live on the coasts of some of the smaller volcanic islands south of here. They are rarely seen unless one or two become separated from their pods during a storm or for whatever reason and is beached on the shores of one of the big islands. These two were found a few years ago. Evidently orphaned, they were beached and half starved when they were rescued. Fortunately, the Emperor heard of their plight before the peasants managed to do them much harm and had them brought here. They’ve remained in his court as special guests since,” Garth explained.

  Evidently bored with the story, the Lorilli interrupted, “Come play with us, Garth, please, please!” they begged, reaching for him.

  “No, no, not today little ones,” he said as he dodged their wet, dripping hands. “I have business to discuss with the Emperor. Perhaps Kayla will join you.”

  “Oh yes! Please come swim with us,” they pleaded.

  “But, I couldn’t, I-I…” spluttered, Kayla, thinking that she would rather spend time swimming in a lake filled with hungry water dragons than face another minute in the presence of Caleis!

  “Go ahead,” urged Garth. “Just remove your gown and sandals. Clothing is always optional in the Emperor’s court,” he laughed. “Especially whe
n it concerns beautiful young women.”

  “Well, if it’s really okay,” she relented with a smile.

  Kicking off the sandals, Kayla quickly shed her gown, being careful to drape it over a nearby bench and though she could feel all eyes following her, she was not self-conscious about being seen in her undergarments. She knew that they were no more revealing than the bikinis she had so boldly worn to the beaches at home.

  Moving with the lithe grace of a cat, Kayla joined the twins, cannon balling from the poolside and showering them and everything in the vicinity with cascades of water.

  Garth wiped the water from his face and watched the three of them frolicking in the water, shrieking and squealing in a noisy game of splash and dunk for a few minutes before returning to his emperor.

  Always an excellent swimmer, Kayla had no difficulty in keeping up with the young merfolk. Pursuing the agile Lori in a game of tag, she dove deep and reached for a filmy tailfin.

  Tagged, Lori reversed direction and returned to swim beside Kayla.

  “Let’s play a different game now,” Kayla heard Reed whisper as Lori took her hand and led her into deeper water.

  Confused, she looked behind her for the source of the voice, trailed bubbles into the floating tendrils of her own long hair, and met Reed’s mischievous green eyes.

  “Oh yes, let’s!” answered Lori.

  Kayla shook her head and pulled away from Lori as the need for more air began to make her chest ache and started swimming for the surface.

  “Wait,” their voices sounded within her head as they each took one of her hands and drew her back to them. “You can breathe down here too, if you choose!”

  “Just try!” came Lori’s voiceless command as Kayla pulled away again.

  Shaking her head no, Kayla began swimming urgently for the surface.

  “Try,” echoed Reed’s thought. “Let the oxygen come to you, let it flow through your skin and into your bloodstream,” he coaxed.

  A little frightened, Kayla decided that her new friends would not try to harm her, and that as Garth had become her teacher, then, perhaps, the Lorilli could also teach her their magic. It took enormous willpower not to give into the fear, but she forced herself to relax in their hold. Closing her eyes, she tried to envision the absorption of the millions of tiny air bubbles, and she felt them flowing through her skin and soaking into the veins, filling her with new energy and excitement.

  Popping her eyes open, she smiled. “It works!” she called silently and was thrilled anew that she had found the way of mind talk. It seemed that with every thought she received or sent, the next was clearer as it flew through the newly opened channels of her mind.

  “We knew you could do it!” chorused the Lorilli excitedly.

  Joining hands, the three swam in a jubilant circle, filling their heads with laughter and giggles. But as the circling slowed, the game changed, becoming one of touching and caressing, and Kayla became aware that she was no longer wearing the small, blue undergarments and was as naked as the twins.

  “You are so beautiful,” came Reed’s thought.

  “Yes, so beautiful,” echoed Lori.

  Feeling uneasy, Kayla pulled away from the two young teens. “No, you mustn’t,” she thought, “you’re too young for this kind of play.”

  “Young?” she heard them tittering. “How many years are you, pretty one?” whispered Reed.

  “Why, I-I’m already eighteen that’s a woman on my world,” she returned. More giggling filled her head as Lori swam gently against her and put a small hand to her cheek.

  “But we are twenty-four years since birth. Perhaps it is you who is too young!” she tittered.

  “Our race matures very slowly,” interjected Reed. “We are unable to breed until we are perhaps fifty years or more. Until then, this type of play is acceptable…and very desirable,” he finished with a bright grin.

  Kayla relaxed. She liked the delicate, charming Lorilli. She was fascinated by their slanting, sea-green eyes and the softness of their golden hair as it brushed against her bare skin. And since their revelation, their slender bodies no longer appeared childish to her, but erotic in their seeming innocence.

  She let them embrace her, enjoying the sensations their soft caresses invoked. Gentle kisses touched her arms, her legs. Kayla cradled Lori’s head against her breast allowing her to suckled one hard nipple while Reed eased her onto her back to float on the gentle current, moving his body against hers until he was lying between her legs touching her with his soft lips and hot thrusting tongue.

  Moaning in pleasure, Kayla returned their caresses, kissing Lori’s sweet mouth, exploring it with a probing tongue while she let her hand roam down Reed’s sleek front, enjoying the feel of his scaled body only to discover that his tail had separated into two muscular legs. Neither his masculinity nor his maturity remained in question.

  Lori pressed against her, touching and kissing, and she realized that the twins had been slowly leading her to an underwater grotto furnished with giant sponges arranged into beds and couches to lounge on. She didn’t resist when they eased her back onto one of these, feeling the resilient surface adjust to fit her form and as she trailed her hands down Lori’s transformed body, she realized why her own held such attraction for Reed. For Lori’s body was, despite her years, undeveloped, physically preventing a man equipped as Reed from entering her.

  Sensing her reaction, Lori whispered, “All females of our race are thus until ready to breed. There are other ways of giving and receiving pleasure. For our kind, all forms are permissible as long as the participants are willing.”

  Kayla heard the girl’s giggles as a mélange of erotic images flashed through her mind, and she could feel Lori’s excitement as she pressed into Kayla’s exploring hand.

  Reed and Lori became more impassioned in their attentions until Reed lowered himself between her legs, the heaviness of his member pressed against her, demanding entrance. But he had grown even larger with excitement, and his attempted entry brought pain, causing Kayla to pull away in fear.

  “No, it will be all right. I’ll help you,” came Lori’s thoughts as her lips touched Kayla’s sensitive skin, sending shivers of anticipation through her body once again. She felt Lori’s small tongue darting in and out, tickling her and felt Reed press forward to gain entry.

  “I-I don’t think I can,” Kayla twisted, pulling away from their exquisite torture, only to feel Reed’s hands close about her slender hips with a strength and power that belied their size.

  With a final thrust, he entered her. And Kayla screamed, managing to swallow a mouthful of water as she struggled to be free of his swollen penis that seemed to grow even larger as she struggled.

  “No, no, you must relax. He cannot release you until the finish! We will not let you be harmed,” crooned her lovers as they caressed her taut body.

  Reed teased her hard nipples with his raspy tongue, but she managed to push him from her, rising and turning, only to feel him grow larger and harder within her, nearly making her faint. Through the haze of pain, she could feel Lori trying to sooth her struggles and heard her own silent screams as she involuntarily thrust her hips in time to the throbbing mass within her.

  “Oh please, I can’t bear this any longer!” she begged, returning their passionate kisses. She drew her nails across Reed’s sleek flanks and sucked Lori’s tiny nipples in a frenzy of excitement and her body began to convulse from the heat of Reed’s huge member as he ejaculated deep inside her.

  Reaching for his testicles with both hands, she caressed them and squeezed hard as she drove her hips into him. This time she could hear, and feel, Reed’s screams of pain and ecstasy before he collapsed across her.

  “Let me take away the pain now,” she heard through the fog filling her mind. She flinched away, but the girl’s hands held her firmly as she gently caressed away the pain within her with fingertips and tongue.

  Still lost in a swirling maze of sensations, Kayla allowed them
to guide her up to the far side of the pool where they helped her into a fern-filled bower in the garden.

  Reed offered her a draft of some sweet-tasting wine, whispering huskily, “Drink this, it will make you feel better.”

  Kayla obediently swallowed the wine before dropping back into the ferns.

  “You don’t think we’ve harmed her, do you?” Lori asked anxiously as she looked into Kayla’s pale face and watery-blue eyes.

  “I don’t think so,” he answered anxiously. “Please, Kayla, we only wished to love you,” he entreated.

  Angry at her mistreatment, Kayla thrust her mind into that of each of the Lorilli, seeking the truth of their actions and understood. They had truly not meant to hurt her, they were merely inexperienced with human women and having known only each other, and her mind flinched in revulsion at what she saw!

  Damned Caleis and his perverted cruelty! No wonder they were unlearned in the ways of love!

  “It’ll be alright, my darlings, I understand.” She wrapped her arms about their naked bodies and drew them to her, feeling the tears on their cheeks mingle with her own.

  The three slept, curled together like a litter of puppies, taking comfort from each other’s touch until Kayla was roused by the sound of their erratic breathing and the coolness of the flesh touching hers.

  “What’s wrong? Wake up!” She shook first one twin then the other.

  “No! This cannot be,” she begged, near panic as memories of the past flooded back to a boy who had loved her and nearly died, of her grandmother’s warnings, and even of Garth’s veiled comments all now filled her with terror!

  Desperate, she drew them together before her and placed a hand on each of their small chests.

  “Slowly now,” she whispered as she took control of the fire smoldering within her and let it flow, ever so gently into them, willing them to wake.

  Kayla felt the warmth of life traveling from the tips of her fingers and ever so slowly, the temperature of their bodies begin to rise.

  Lori and Reed opened their eyes and smiled lazily at her, “I guess we should have known to be more cautious of,” mumbled Reed as he slowly rose to a sitting position, “the great Sorceress that Garth has gone to so much trouble to draw to Docrain.”